Published: Thursday, August 22, 2013 at 12:21 p.m.

Last Modified: Thursday, August 22, 2013 at 12:21 p.m.

MixGrotto

Welcome back, MixGrotto.

The Wilmington music collective returns on Saturday, Aug. 24, for a show at the Calico Room, 107 S. Front St. downtown, that will celebrate its re-launch.

Initially, MixGrotto was active between 2009 and 2011. Its members put together semi-monthly mixtapes of local, original music which were then tied to live shows. The goal was to support local music while giving to local charities.

Those mixtape collections could be had in digital form or physical CD’s, and each edition had its own unique packaging. The music could also be downloaded from MixGrotto.com.

Originally created by Aaron Harvey, Trevor Brown and Ben Jamieson, MixGrotto has been reignited by Brown and Harvey along with local musician Matt Evans of Pretend Surprise.

During its initial run, the collective put out 13 albums and even had a short-lived music venue, The Grotto, named after it. Saturday’s show will mark the 14th MixGrotto release.

Sponsored by Progressive Gardens, the show will be hosted by John Gray from Saturday Nutt Live and the Cucalorus Film Festival.

Live music will feature The Black Hellatones, Dead Rattles, Pretend Surprise, Aaron Harvey and Sean Gerard of Onward, Soldiers, who is now booking and doing sound for the Calico.

Admission is $5 and the new album will be on sale. MixGrotto is always accepting submissions for upcoming albums; email to tracks@MixGrotto.com.

Sound Palate

Here’s something worth getting up at a decent hour on Sundays for. For the past two weeks, The Penguin 98.3 FM has been broadcasting a new show – “Sound Palate.”

Host and producer Kitty Kinnin puts together a fun, laid-back, music show every Sunday from 10 a.m. to noon.

The Penguin is the first station to air the show, a somewhat informal program that seems content to let the music speak for itself. Kinnin’s show is an inviting mix of music, discussion and food. The conversation is lively and the music selection is always surprising, from earthy and bluesy material to dance music.

The first show in mid-August kicked off with a simple, brief introduction from Kinnin and then dove into a delightful take on “A Sunday Kind of Love” followed by a smoky, jazzy take on Nirvana’s “Come as You Are.”

Sound Palate also features sound bites from musicians talking about other players, like Buddy Guy recounting meeting Jimi Hendrix. The randomness only makes the show more interesting.

If you’re sleeping in Sundays, the shows are also available as a podcast on The Penguin’s website, 983ThePenguin.com.

In a press release Kinnin said she doesn’t adhere to charts and that her music will range from “Minghus to Metallica.” That’s a mantra to get behind.

New movies

An intriguing trio of new releases – well, new to us, anyway – hit area theaters today.

Woody Allen’s latest in his film-a-year cycle is “Blue Jasmine.” It’s been dredging up early awards-season buzz for Cate Blanchett as the delusional title character, who has been compared to Tennessee Williams’ Blanche DuBois in “A Streetcar Named Desire.” It’s one of Allen’s “serious” films and has been called his best since “Match Point” in 2005.

If you’re a fan of British actors Simon Pegg and Nick Frost – and how can you not be, with films like “Sean of the Dead” and “Hott Fuzz”? – you’re looking forward to “The World’s End” as much as I am. Wired calls the science fiction comedy “a touching alien-invasion pub-crawl movie about finally growing up.” It’s about an aging hipster (Pegg) who gets the gang back together to re-attempt an epic 12-pub crawl they failed to complete 20-odd years before. Two decades on, however, the pubs they visited in their youth are, well, let’s just say different.

And for you horror fans out there, there’s been plenty of hype around “You’re Next,” which looks like a cross between “The Strangers” and the “Scream” movies.

<p class="bold allcaps">MixGrotto</p>
<p>Welcome back, MixGrotto.</p><p>The Wilmington music collective returns on Saturday, Aug. 24, for a show at the Calico Room, 107 S. Front St. downtown, that will celebrate its re-launch.</p><p>Initially, MixGrotto was active between 2009 and 2011. Its members put together semi-monthly mixtapes of local, original music which were then tied to live shows. The goal was to support local music while giving to local charities.</p><p>Those mixtape collections could be had in digital form or physical CD's, and each edition had its own unique packaging. The music could also be downloaded from MixGrotto.com.</p><p>Originally created by Aaron Harvey, Trevor Brown and Ben Jamieson, MixGrotto has been reignited by Brown and Harvey along with local musician Matt Evans of Pretend Surprise.</p><p>During its initial run, the collective put out 13 albums and even had a short-lived music venue, The Grotto, named after it. Saturday's show will mark the 14th MixGrotto release.</p><p>Sponsored by Progressive Gardens, the show will be hosted by John Gray from Saturday Nutt Live and the <a href="http://www.starnewsonline.com/section/topic23"><b>Cucalorus</b></a> Film Festival.</p><p>Live music will feature The Black Hellatones, Dead Rattles, Pretend Surprise, Aaron Harvey and Sean Gerard of Onward, Soldiers, who is now booking and doing sound for the Calico.</p><p>Admission is $5 and the new album will be on sale. MixGrotto is always accepting submissions for upcoming albums; email to tracks@MixGrotto.com.</p><h3>Sound Palate</h3>
<p>Here's something worth getting up at a decent hour on Sundays for. For the past two weeks, The Penguin 98.3 FM has been broadcasting a new show – “Sound Palate.”</p><p>Host and producer Kitty Kinnin puts together a fun, laid-back, music show every Sunday from 10 a.m. to noon.</p><p>The Penguin is the first station to air the show, a somewhat informal program that seems content to let the music speak for itself. Kinnin's show is an inviting mix of music, discussion and food. The conversation is lively and the music selection is always surprising, from earthy and bluesy material to dance music.</p><p>The first show in mid-August kicked off with a simple, brief introduction from Kinnin and then dove into a delightful take on “A Sunday Kind of Love” followed by a smoky, jazzy take on Nirvana's “Come as You Are.” </p><p>Sound Palate also features sound bites from musicians talking about other players, like Buddy Guy recounting meeting Jimi Hendrix. The randomness only makes the show more interesting.</p><p>If you're sleeping in Sundays, the shows are also available as a podcast on The Penguin's website, 983ThePenguin.com. </p><p>In a press release Kinnin said she doesn't adhere to charts and that her music will range from “Minghus to Metallica.” That's a mantra to get behind.</p><h3>New movies</h3>
<p>An intriguing trio of new releases – well, new to us, anyway – hit area theaters today. </p><p>Woody Allen's latest in his film-a-year cycle is “Blue Jasmine.” It's been dredging up early awards-season buzz for Cate Blanchett as the delusional title character, who has been compared to Tennessee Williams' Blanche DuBois in “A Streetcar Named Desire.” It's one of Allen's “serious” films and has been called his best since “Match Point” in 2005.</p><p>If you're a fan of British actors Simon Pegg and Nick Frost – and how can you not be, with films like “Sean of the Dead” and “Hott Fuzz”? – you're looking forward to “The World's End” as much as I am. Wired calls the science fiction comedy “a touching alien-invasion pub-crawl movie about finally growing up.” It's about an aging hipster (Pegg) who gets the gang back together to re-attempt an epic 12-pub crawl they failed to complete 20-odd years before. Two decades on, however, the pubs they visited in their youth are, well, let's just say different. </p><p>And for you horror fans out there, there's been plenty of hype around “You're Next,” which looks like a cross between “The Strangers” and the “Scream” movies.</p>